


and the moon is the only light we'll see

by openended



Series: don't threaten me with a good time (victoria ryder) [7]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Healing, Height Differences, Injury, Jaal POV, Post-Flesh And Blood, Scars, mentions of Victoria/Liam/Jaal but not enough to go in the tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 05:13:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10757409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/openended/pseuds/openended
Summary: After rescuing his family from Akksul, there are some injuries to attend to. Not all of them are physical.(Or, the one where Victoria patches up Jaal and they have A Moment.)





	and the moon is the only light we'll see

**Author's Note:**

> [also on tumblr](http://dearophelia.tumblr.com/post/160105403052/and-the-moon-is-the-only-light-well-see)

After Jaal has said goodbye to his family, Ryder gently steers him to an out of-the-way corner in Pelaav's upper level. "Sit," she says quietly, gesturing to a chair. She sets her medical bag on the table beside the window, and turns to open it.

Jaal catches her hand and gently tugs, turning her back around. "Ryder," he says.

She smiles at him, a tiny little smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I need to," she gestures to his cheek, blinks rapidly, and swallows. She gives his hand a squeeze and pulls away. "Sit down," she says, and gives his shoulder a little push, directing him into the chair.

Ryder is the smallest person he's ever met. _A buck twenty, soaking wet_ , Liam said one afternoon, while they watched her square her shoulders, tilt her chin, and stare down Addison. It took Jaal another two weeks to understand the phrase, during which he witnessed Ryder clear and secure a room full of kett on her own while he and Liam were still trying to find the door, make decisions for hundreds of thousands of people - decisions whose implications he can't even fathom - and, most frequently, he witnessed her struggle to climb into the Nomad unassisted.

But for how short she is, and for how easily he can lift her, she never _looks_ small, not even when she's climbing onto the galley counter to reach the top cabinet shelf and the peanut butter Vetra promised her was there.

Except now. Ryder's armor broadens her shoulders, widens her hips, and adds fifty pounds to her frame, but at this moment, as she turns her back to him and searches her bag for a bandage, she looks _tiny_.

"Victoria," he says low and quiet, barely above a whisper. On the landing pad, she'd told him that she was worried. He's beginning to learn that she is a master of the understatement.

Her hands still and she looks up out the window at the drizzling rain. "I trust you," she says, "and I will always follow your lead when it comes to your family." She licks her dry lips and swallows. "But please don't ask me to do that again."

Ryder slowly turns back to him, bandage and ointment in hand. "Don't ask me to stand still while some crazy fanatic points a gun at your head. Because I _will_ shoot him."

If Liam were here, he'd say something to lighten the air, perhaps _no chance of that, we're full up on crazy fanatics_. But Liam is on the _Tempest_ healing from a sprained ankle, and so it's only the two of them. And, for perhaps the first time since he's known her, Jaal doesn't know what to say.

Thunder rumbles in the distance. The workers outside begin to scramble, rushing to finish unloading a new supply shipment before the storm hits.

Ryder sets her supplies on the stool beside her, and holds his gaze. Her eyes glisten in the dim lighting, her jaw clenches, and she fidgets, fighting to stand still. Even through her heavy armor chestplate, he can see that she's struggling to keep her breath steady and even. Jaal wonders at everything she isn't saying. Maybe one day she'll say the words she's holding back, and perhaps she won't.

Wind blows through the open window, bringing raindrops and the smell of thunder. The wind catches her hair, and blows a stray lock, escaped from its ponytail, into her face. Ryder tucks it behind her ear. She exhales and nods, pressing her lips together. Gently, she hooks her finger under his chin and tilts his face up into the light.

He covers her other hand with his own.

"I'm actually fine," she says. Lightning flashes, illuminating her soft features for the briefest of moments.

Jaal lifts his chin out of her touch so he can tilt his head, skeptical. He looks into her eyes, so brilliantly green, and guilt twinges at his heart. He is the one who stared down the barrel of Akksul’s pistol, but she watched him do it. "I'm so sorry, darling one. I did not anticipate frightening you tonight."

At that, she smiles wide. "I'd be a little concerned if you had." She leans in and presses a light kiss on his forehead before moving his head back into position. "And you didn't die, so you passed the _very_ low standards we set on this ship."

He frowns. "That is a…grim expectation."

"But an important one." She gently holds his jaw and tilts his head one way, and then the other, examining the bullet wound. "I can use a dermal regenerator to heal this completely, or just clean it up and let it scar. Your choice.”

Jaal thinks carefully before he answers. "Let it scar. A reminder of the trust you put in me, perhaps."

"I was gonna go with a reminder not to do that again, because it scares the crap out of your girlfriend." She grins, and it's just a little too wide to be genuine. "But trust works."

And _there_ are the words she didn't say earlier. She's tried to veil them with humor, but her voice trembled just slightly on _scares_. He cups her cheek and slides his fingers to lightly curl around the back of her neck.

Her breath trembles. "Do not do that again," she pleads with a quiet, shaky voice.

Jaal draws her closer and presses his forehead against hers. "I won't," he promises, and not only because Akksul has been dealt with and - like Liam would say - they're full up on crazy fanatics. She's asked him not to, and that's reason enough.

Ryder pulls away, just enough to kiss him. Her fingers linger on his skin, trailing down his jaw as she gently sucks on his lower lip. Rain pounds on the metal roof and he slides his arm around her waist, pulling her in. She bumps into his knee and, laughing quietly, breaks the kiss before she loses her balance.

"Let's get your face cleaned up," she says, giving him one last kiss. "It's gonna be an awesome scar."


End file.
